Zelenskyy: Russia ordered Shahed drones from Iran before full-scale invasion of Ukraine

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine had previously had rather complicated diplomatic relations with Iran. This was especially noticeable when the passenger liner Boeing 737-800 NG crashed near Tehran on January 8, 2020. After all, Iran did not admit that it had shot down the Ukrainian plane with a missile.

However, when the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine began, Iran helped the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, with weapons.

"After the beginning of the war, it was difficult for us. Our partners helped. And then Iran handed over a batch of Shaheds to Russia. And there was nothing of the kind at that point," says Zelenskyy.

He said that Ukraine tried to resolve this issue with Iran. However, in Iran, they said that Russia had ordered the drones before the invasion of Ukraine.

"We were losing people and we still wanted to solve that matter and they gave us a word that that package had been ordered by Russia before the war. And then they denied, they handed over thousands of those units, and carried on. And then they gave over licenses for the collection plants to be constructed in Russia," said Zelenskyy.

In his opinion, the attacks that are now happening on Iran help destroy the country’s ability to create weapons that kill people.

"So yes, I believe this is a powerful and correct move," he emphasized.

Cooperation between Russia and Iran

From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, Iran became one of Russia’s key allies in the war against Ukraine. In particular, Tehran supplies Moscow with Shahed kamikaze drones, which Russian troops have actively used to attack Ukrainian cities since the fall of 2022.

In addition, after signing a bilateral agreement with Russia, Iran significantly increased the production of ballistic missiles and drones, which only strengthened its role in supplying weapons to the aggressor state.

Moreover, Reuters reported that in the near future, Iran may transfer short-range ballistic missiles Fath 360 to the Russian Federation. Deliveries of hundreds of such missiles are expected.

Confrontation between Israel and Iran

The conflict between Israel and Iran escalated on the night of June 13. Then, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on nuclear and military facilities in Iran. In Israel, they stated that it was a forced response to the threat of Tehran developing nuclear weapons.

In response, already the next night Iran launched more than 150 missiles at Israeli territory.

After that, both countries exchanged strikes daily.

The United States of America entered the conflict on June 22, attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan with bunker-busting aerial bombs.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump stated that Iran and Israel had fully agreed to a ceasefire. Today, on June 24, the American leader announced the entry into force of the ceasefire regime.